About this trip

Join REGINA Magazine (www.reginamagazine.org) for an exclusive retreat at Fontgombault Abbey in west-central France.

Whether single, married, with friends or family join us for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for spiritual, intellectual, and human formation in France.

Amidst the poetry of the liturgical arts and the monastic rhythm of ora et labora (as laid out by St. Benedict: to "pray and work"), your soul will be fed and you will be invigorated as you withdraw from the world to strengthen your spiritual life.

Here you will experience a rare glimpse of life at a traditional Benedictine all-male monastery located in the remote countryside that has existed for nearly one-thousand years in the heart of France. 

You will live and experience the best of monastic traditions and hospitality flourishing in this hidden place,  positioned on the Creuse River and surrounded by forests and farmland. 

You will be fully immersed in monastic life in the medieval footprint.  This includes praying with the monks and hearing them sing Gregorian Chant for their daily sung Mass and Office. 

The monastery and grounds will be your home for seven unforgettable days as we gather together on retreat May 26-June 1, after the annual Chartres Pilgrimage (May 23-25).  

Daily Mass and the choral Office will be prayed and sung in Latin in the Classical Roman Rite. 

Goal: Spiritual Renewal

The synopsis of the retreat is the cultivation of the interior life.

Sessions will be held in mornings and afternoons, with guided meditations to help you explore the interior life and learn how to grow spiritually, aided by traditional Catholic spirituality. 

The experience will include morning Mass at 7:00 am in the Abbey chapel and praying with the monks during the chanting of some of their public hours in the same chapel.

We will also have the opportunity to participate in a daily monastic activity known as "manual labor," a volunteer service in the afternoon after lunch. For this experience, guests participate in various light chores to assist the monastic community and to experience the rhythm of their life. 

As a bonus, during our stay we will learn about the unique and distinctive work of the monks and their life calling and mission -- living the fullness of the Roman Rite in the timeless Benedictine tradition.

This will include hearing about certain practices and customs of the monks according to The Rule of St. Benedict, exploring monastic themes in the Benedictine tradition and seeing why this Abbey is flourishing in an age when others are not.  

Our Retreat Master is Fr. Rok Pogacnik, ordained in 2019 for the Archdiocese of Ljubljana. He completed a licentiate in Poland in dogmatic theology. Currently, he is writing his dissertation for his Phd on the thought of Cardinal Ratzinger. He is also a parish priest in Križe and has been involved with youth groups, boyscouts, singing in various high quality choirs and is the proud owner of a little animal farm.

REGINA has taken great care to design a uniquely tailored monastic retreat that will give participants a treasured and never to be repeated experience of immersion in the stunning backdrop of the historic medieval Abbey.  

All those registered for our retreat will meet in Chartres on the morning of May 26th outside Chartres Cathedral. We will begin with Mass in the Crypt of Chartres Cathedral (to be confirmed).

We board our bus in Chartres and head for Fontgombault Abbey, otherwise known as the Abbey of Our Lady of Fontgombault (Abbaye de Notre-Dame de Fontgombault).

This is an all-male Benedictine monastery of the Solesmes Congregation. It was built in the classic Romanesque style. The monastery, originally founded in 1091, was dissolved at the time of the French Revolution in 1791 and re-founded most recently in 1948.

Today, there are some 60 monks in residence at this contemplative monastery, and to pray with them and hear them sing is one of the most beautiful things this side of Heaven.

On our way, we will stop for lunch in the enchanting medieval town of Tours. Our group will have the opportunity to spend some time in the medieval quarter, for lunch and shopping. We will walk through the quaint streets of Tours to the Basilica of St. Martin, where the saint is entombed in a a crypt below the main altar.

Afterwards, we will visit the nearby site of the Holy Face Shrine dedicated to the Holy Face of Jesus.

This site is particularly known for its connection to the Venerable Leo Dupont, who established a continuous vigil lamp before an image of the Holy Face in his home. 

Today this simple chapel still draws pilgrims, the site of the final resting place of Leo Dupont. From here devotion to the Holy Face spread, inspiring St. Thérèse of Lisieux as well as her saintly parents, who were members of the Archconfraternity of the Holy Face. 

Arrival at Fontgombault will be just before dinner. On the way, we will also stop at a grocery store.

Men will stay inside the monastery in the guest wing and will eat with the monks and follow their rule for the days that we are there.

Women will stay in nearby cottages on the property and will make their own meals together. Women will also be able to attend Mass and the Office of Hours in the main Church with the monks and the male retreatants.

The Abbey chapel opens for us at approximately 7:00 am.

For male visitors staying in the Abbey guest house, the chapel opens at 5:15 am for Matins and Lauds.

We gather for morning Mass at 7:00 am at a side altar in the nave of the chapel. At 8:00 am we gather for breakfast.

At 8:30 am there is the optional chanting of the Office of Prime with the monks.

At 10:00 am Terce is chanted with the Conventual Sung Mass (optional).

Our morning retreat session will begin at 11:00 am and conclude with the Angelus at 12:00 pm.

The meeting point will be at the gate to the garden at the porter's lodge - we will either gather in the shade of the garden on outdoor chairs or inside the meeting lodge that abuts the garden.

At 12:50 pm the Office of Sext is chanted and the church closes until 1:50 pm.

Lunch is at 1:15 pm.

At 2:35 pm the Office of None is chanted after which we will be assigned a time and task for manual labor (the time and task may change each day).

Our afternoon retreat session will begin at 4:30 pm and conclude at 5:30 pm.

At 6:00 pm the Office of Vespers is chanted.

The church closes at 7:25 pm.

Dinner will be served for the ladies at 7:30 pm.

Overnight at Fontgombault. B, L, D

The Thursday schedule is slightly different at the Abbey (the Office of Vespers is at 3:45 pm).

We gather for morning Mass at 7:00 am at a side altar in the nave of the chapel.

At 8:00 am we gather for breakfast.

At 8:30 am there is the optional chanting of the Office of Prime with the monks.

At 10:00 am Terce is chanted with the Conventual Sung Mass (optional).

Our retreat morning session is at 11:00 am and concludes with the Angelus at 12:00 pm.

At 12:50 pm the Office of Sext is chanted and the church closes until 1:50 pm.

Lunch is at 1:15 pm.

At 2:35 pm the Office of None is chanted after which we will be assigned a time and task for manual labor.

At 3:45 pm the Office of Vespers is chanted.

Our afternoon retreat session will begin at 4:30 pm and conclude at 5:30 pm.

The church closes at 7:25 pm.

Dinner will be served at 7:30 pm.

Overnight at Fontgombault. B, L, D

We gather for morning Mass at 7:00 am at a side altar in the nave of the chapel.

Meals today will be meatless.

At 8:00 am we gather for breakfast.

At 8:30 am there is the optional chanting of the Office of Prime with the monks.

At 10:00 am Terce is chanted with the Conventual Sung Mass (optional).

Our retreat morning session is at 11:00 am and concludes with the

Angelus at 12:00 pm.

At 12:50 pm the Office of Sext is chanted and the church closes until 1:50

pm.

Lunch is at 1:15 pm.

At 2:35 pm the Office of None is chanted after which we will be

assigned a time and task for manual labor.

Our afternoon retreat session will begin at 4:30 pm and conclude at 5:30 pm.

At 6:00 pm the Office of Vespers is chanted.

The church closes at 7:25 pm.

Dinner will be served at 7:30 pm.

Overnight at Fontgombault. B, L, D

(DAY TRIP IS DEPENDANT ON REACHING MINIMUM REGISTRANTS)

Following 7:00 AM Mass and breakfast, we will board our bus for a day trip to Poitiers, the nearest city, about an hours drive away.

Poitiers is a major university town (its university dates to 1431), with a stunning cathedral, a masterpiece begun in 1162.

The city's pedigree is forever associated with a major battle that took place in the area.

The year was 732, the battle is forever remembered as the Battle of Tours, when Charles Martel crushed the belligerent Islamic forces that were racing to destroy Paris.

We will enjoy a free day here to explore, shop, and enjoy dining options -- lunch on our own.

In the afternoon we will regroup for our return to the Abby in time for Vespers and dinner.

At 6:00 pm the Office of Vespers is chanted.

The church closes at 7:25 pm.

Dinner will be served at 7:30 pm.

Overnight at Fontgombault. B, D

The Sunday schedule is slightly different at the Abbey (the Office of None is at 3:00 pm and the Office of Vespers is at 5:00 pm).

We gather for morning Mass at 7:00 am at a side altar in the

nave of the chapel.

At 8:00 am we gather for breakfast.

At 8:30 am there is the optional chanting of the Office of Prime with the monks.

At 10:00 am Terce is chanted with the Conventual Sung Mass (optional).

Our retreat morning session is at 11:00 am and concludes with the Angelus at 12:00 pm.

At 12:50 pm the Office of Sext is chanted and the church closes until 1:50 pm.

Lunch is at 1:15 pm.

At 3:00 pm the Office of None is chanted. No manual labor on the Lord's Day.

Our afternoon retreat session will begin at 4:00 pm and conclude at 4:45 pm.

At 5:00 pm the Office of Vespers is chanted.

The church closes at 7:25 pm.

Dinner will be served at 7:30 pm.

Overnight at Fontgombault. B, L, D

Following 7:00 AM Mass and breakfast, we will board our motor coach and depart for Paris. On the way, we will stop in Orleans for lunch and to see the incredible cathedral.

Later in the afternoon, we will continue our picturesque drive to Paris. Our final destination will be at a reasonably priced hotel near Charles de Gaulle International Airport, so that people can, with ease the following morning, take the free shuttle to the airport for their return flights home. (Airport hotel not included in the price of the Retreat.)